A legacy of leadership

SM was once condemned for cutting down trees in Baguio City. Today, I want to tell you why that was the right decision, and what it taught me about leadership.

- By HANS SY

Across SM Baguio is the University of the Cordilleras, the oldest postwar university in the region. It sits on a hillside and serves thousands of students. In 2012, I noticed signs of potential soil erosion on the slope above the campus, where our mall stands. Each rainfall risked sending soil toward the classrooms below. I could not sleep knowing the danger it posed to the school. The only way to keep the campus safe was to build a retaining wall and reinforce the ground. That required the removal and relocation of several trees in the SM Baguio property. As someone who has long cared about the environment, it was a very hard decision to make.

Unfortunately, many saw the act but not the intent. Despite our efforts to explain the situation, many accused SM of betraying the environment for financial gain. The reactions were harsh. A foreign artist even cancelled a concert at our arena in protest. We finished the work anyway. The hillside held, and the school remains safe. That choice - of doing what is right, even when unpopular - sharpened my understanding of leadership.

The incident also led to a truly unexpected blessing. I had a meaningful exchange with the head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. One conversation led to another, and soon after, I was invited to serve as the first Filipino private sector representative to the UNDRR. Through ARISE Global, I am able to share what SM has quietly practiced since the late 1980s: forward thinking and resilience. I now work across sectors to help communities prepare and recover faster from calamities.